XVII Olympic Winter Games - RP Thread

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

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Results thread - Roleplaying thread (HERE) - Rosters thread
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Olympic Announcements Thread - Olympic Games Discussion Thread - Host Bid

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The New Gelderlish Olympic Committee (NGOC) and the Royal Quebecois Olympic Committee (RQOC) are pleased to welcome the participating delegations of the 17th Winter Olympic Games.

The purpose of this thread is to post roleplays which will contribute to your nation's results. Any OOC comments and enquiries should be posted at the general Olympic Games Discussion Thread or the OOC discussion thread. Information regarding venues can be found in the subsequent posts by the host nations - please remain patient as they can take a couple of days to be updated and posted.

CUTOFF TIME

There will be only one RP cutoff per scorination day, tentatively scheduled to be around 20:00-21:00 EDT (Midnight-1:00+1 UTC) each day.

There will be off-days built into the schedule. In case one of the scorinators is not made available in the evening hours, however, they will be scorinating their respective events in the morning.

LIST OF DELEGATIONS

Note: All accepted delegations up to the end of 14th of March, 2023.

ABL  Aboveland and Nykipiflugpuu
AKE  A Kea
ALE  Alezian Union
CBZ  Cabo Azure
CNR  Cap Nord
DAR  Darmen
DCS  Diarcesia
DMN  Darkmania
ETM  Electrum
HOP  Hopal
HUR  Huron League
IOU  Ioudaia
KGS  Kriegiersien
KOR  Ko-oren
KRY  Krytenia
KSK  Kelssek
KWP  Magnus Phoenicia
LEN  Liventia
NGD  New Gelderland
NTN  Natanians and Nosts
OBL  Obrela
PCU  Pemecutan
QUE  Quebec & Shingoryeo
RCL  Ile de Richelieu
SRD  Srednjaci
STR  StrayaRoos
SVA  Sjovenia [Slaveska]
VAL  Valanora
VLT  Vilitan Union
WSN  Waisnor

SOME ADVICE ON ROLEPLAYS -- In continuation from the Games of the XV & XVI Olympiad

Roleplay marking can be pretty subjective, but here are some of the things which would help you in scoring highly:

• Quality > quantity - a roleplay that can make me laugh or feel emotional or has good sporting analysis/research (especially for more obscure sports), graphics, characterisation, world building will be marked more highly. Feel free to experiment and be creative.
• Try and roleplay events about or related to the Olympics or its athletes in some way.
• Use all the information provided to provide details: where applicable, refer to team rosters, IC info, sponsorship info, other people's roleplays, etc.
• Respect people's roleplay permissions (usually people post them on the roster thread) -- this includes not godmodding if it's not allowed and being consistent with what other people have roleplayed first.
• Don't give me a list of results -- I scored them! Instead, give information that I don't know. Fill in the blanks and provide context behind the scores. How did the athletes feel? What moves did they do? How did they win or lose? Why did they perform above/below expectations?
• Don't expect to always win. Remember that having a high skill athlete and/or a good roleplay only increases but does not guarantee the chances of a medal.
• Please don't tag posts to edit in roleplays later. Once I see a post on the thread, I will mark it. If you have anything new to add, do so in a new post and it will be counted.

[New Gelderland]

New Gelderland Information

New Gelderland was first discovered by a group of Dutch-speaking Endemian settlers led by Johan van Dercke in 1604; this group named their new discovery after their homeland of Gelderland. They established a colony near present-day Arrowhead Point. However, that colonial experiment proved short lived as a group of English-speaking settlers also fell in love with the area, and, due to their military superiority, pushed this first group out into other pastures. This group of colonists then moved on to found the city of New Amsterdam, which still exists today. Meanwhile, the English-speaking group expanded their hold over the country, establishing the cities of Nassau Bay (named after their King, of the Orange-Nassau dynasty), Arrowhead Point, and Queenstown. This group of colonists continued to expand into the interior of New Gelderland, eventually occupying around 50% of the modern-day New Gelderland, centering around the Talos River.

Around the late 1700s, another group of colonists arrived in modern-day New Gelderland from the northern border with Electrum. This group, fed up with the lack of opportunities in their area of Electrum, followed the Great Rushmori River into New Gelderland, establishing their colony centered around the confluence of the Great Rushmori and Rogue Rivers, modern-day Electrum. Yet a third group of colonists, from Austroslovakia, founded their own colony in the east of New Gelderland, seeking wealth in the fertile lands of this area. They did establish colonies along the Great Rushmori River, sometimes intermixing with the Electrumites. This group also expanded southward and colonized the eastern reaches of the Talos River. Modern legacies of this group's colonization include the cities of Vaduz and Noviodunum.

By the early 1800s and the Industrial Revolution, most of New Gelderland's present territory had been colonized. However, tensions began to rise between the German-speaking settlers of the east and the English-speaking settlers of the West. The two parties fought few brief skirmishes in contested areas along the Talos River, but they agreed to come to the negotiating table before these skirmishes erupted in wider bloodshed. At the Conference of Lexington, brokered with the help of the neutral Electrumites, the parties agreed to form the modern New Gelderland, with Lexington as the capital (as it was centrally located and hosted interests of both parties). Over time, the country industrialized rapidly and began to diversify from its agricultural roots. Today, New Gelderland is one of the most prosperous economies in Terranea in per-capita income, with its 15 million citizens enjoying a very high standard of living.

New Gelderland generally prides itself on its liberal laws on most subjects, including legal marijuana (see the modern Dutch policy). It takes a less strict approach in guns than its northern neighbor, but guns are still highly regulated. Travel and hotel arrangements are similar to those of Electrum (see below in the Electrum IC section).

The currency of New Gelderland is the guilder, at a conversion rate of around 1000 guilders to the USD and 1500 guilders to the Synergy. Most vendors around the vendor will take all three currencies, and most vendors in New Gelderland will take the Guilder and USD.

About the Eiran Mountains
The Eiran Mountains are located in western New Gelderland and form a backbone along the west of the country; streams and springs in the mountains are the sources of two major rivers of New Gelderland, the Talos and the Rogue Rivers. They host a variety of ski resorts and outdoor tourism activities, hence the decision by the NGOC to bid for the Olympics in this region.

Globeflower, named after the alpine flower growing abundantly in the Eiran Mountains, will host alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, and snowboarding events, divided between the Globeflower Highlands Ski Resort and the Cedaredge Ski Resort.

While Trethanton does not have the ski resort vibe that Globeflower does, it hopes to make up for that with its charming town centre along the Great Rushmori River. And its hilly and forested surroundings certainly add to its appeal as a host city for biathlon and cross-country skiing.

Trethanton has a small regional airport mainly serving regional jets; the Vaduz Airport, around two hours from Trethanton, will host the anticipated increase in jet traffic. The NGOC will run frequent shuttles between Vaduz, Trethanton, and Globeflower.

Venues in New Gelderland
Globeflower Zone:
Globeflower Highlands Ski Resort: Freestyle skiing, snowboarding
Cedaredge Ski Area: Alpine skiing

Globeflower Highlands is a skier's paradise: With 17 lifts and ski-in, ski-out lodging, it is a one-stop shop for skiers of all ages and abilities to get their adrenaline in. Adrenaline junkies can also try snowboarding at the facility, and it has an Olympic-class halfpipe for all comers to try their hand on (with the requisite training, of course). The lodging suites are located in a facility designed by the famous Gelderlish architect Oscar Ancharmunn with modernist design notes that aim to take advantage of views of the area's mountainous scenery and rugged terrain. In addition to skiing, guests at Globeflower Highlands can also enjoy a spa experience modeled after indigenous lifeways and an exquisite "Terranean standard cuisine" restaurant. Cedaredge Ski Area has equally stunning views but the infrastructure to support a less free-spending clientele — but rest assured that the slopes are still Olympic-quality.

Trethanton Zone:
Riverside Park: Biathlon
Various courses through Evergreen Winterland Resort: Cross-country skiing

In addition to the forested ski-trails that run along both sides of the Great Rushmori River, Riverside Park also has beautiful, flower- and tree-lined sections of the river, including sections where visitors can pick crabapples off the trees (when in season, of course). The Trethanton Town Hall is located in a plaza alongside the park which always features bright colors, no matter the season (thanks, winterberry and pierris!). In addition to being a walker, hiker, skier, or biker's paradise, the park is also a great place to sit and enjoy a coffee from the numerous artisan coffee shops in the town, as well as a place to peoplewatch the commuters crossing the river at Trethanton's two historic covered bridges.

In normal times, the Evergreen Winterland Resort focuses, well, on winterland activities. Ski lessons, toboggan rentals, and s'mores pits delight tourists and visitors of all ages. The resort makes a special effort to curate ice sculptures and other art exhibits during the wintertime. In the summertime, meanwhile, focus shifts to enjoying the 150-hectare property's mountain and river views from the replica 19th century Nouvelle Angouleme chateau that comprises the bulk of the property's guest rooms. The property also has some loft-style guest houses for rent if guests might desire a more private living experience. In two words: the property is idyllic and tranquil.

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

Reservado.

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Quebec & Shingoryeo Information

Quebec & Shingoryeo is a gigantic nation of 94 million people located in the Calania continent of northwestern Anaia, consisting of 12 provinces.

That said, due to its geographical location, as well as the complexities of the territorial planes over the Quebecois Realms, it identifies itself as a nation of both Calania and northwestern AO, and handles its border/territorial situations accordingly. Quebecois Realms and the N.A.F.T.A. Zone of five nations that are, for some complicated reasons soon to be RP'd in the last quarter of the OOC calendar year 2022, located in Anaia and Atlantian Oceania. For official administrative purposes, it is recognised to be within an Anaian location.

In Anaia, it borders former Semarland and New Gesem to the southeast and Huayramarca to southwest. In Atlantian Oceania, it borders Lacfroid to southeast and Whitecroft to southwest. South Detroit Free State, as a former Quebecois territory, is considered a dual-region state and qualifies under same regulations as the Quebecois Mainland in terms of border control. In terms of water, it faces Salamantic Sea and the Northandryun Strait to the West, Xile Sea to the East. North of the Quebecois borders stand Blood Sea, the maganimous ocean that stands between Anaia and Atlantian Oceania to Rushmore.

The land that is now known to be part of Quebecois Realms, which share boundaries with aforementioned nations of the N.A.F.T.A. Zone, is inhabited for millennia by the indigenous people present in the region. In the year 1404, the fleet of Joseonite exiles from the would sail into the so-called RL-verse move into areas that nowadays constitute the Acadie province and the capitol of Joongyeong, where the kingdom was founded in the same year by Henri I, who negotiated treaty of coexistence among all peoples of the nation, whether indigenous or Koreanophone.

Over the subsequent centuries, the nation would grow in size and technology. With the quiet incorporation of the neighbouring peoples, the expansion of maritime trade between Atlantian Oceania and Rushmore (and to some degree Tyran and Esportiva), subsequent industrialisation of the country's industries, and inconsistent operations of the interrealm portal, the Quebecois Empire would grow to incorporate territories across many regions.

The Empire, while formed by military warfare and supported by its allied nations (see: Gatchingerrak Union's constituent nations), was an odd one of own. It did not suppress the peoples or the cultures, but focused on the equal standings between the locals (this being mostly the ruling elites of the territories) who would fall under the mostly similar administrative and economic frameworks (citation needed for latter btw). Thus, the Empire was stood to be a short-term option with nations fostered to develop their own, nationalistic path over time. With the growing inequalities faced domestically at home, and the overseas territories becoming increasingly unmanageable in economic terms by the early-1900s, decolonisation and the further bloc-ification of the Quebecois Empire and its allies were inevitable and encouraged.

Eventually, the Empire would turn into that of the Quebecois Commonwealth, a loose political and economic union of two-dozen nations, with the process finished by year 1949. The nation, now without a glitter (and grime) of an empire, had to embark on their own path to redefine themselves. Continued encouragement of immigration from both Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth nations, which had coincided the postwar decades' excitement and calls for cultural liberalisation, would further diversify the nation. At the same time the resilient strength of the nation's economy, even after all the booms-and-busts of economic cycles, nationalisation and privatisation and re-nationalisation policies, would too ensure that Quebec and Shingoryeo, just over a century after the nation-defining Southern Rushmori War and the de-markation of the Quebecois Empire, and just under a decade after historical Foxchester Declaration, is still a darn good place to live, if slightly expensive.

Quebec and Shingoryeo is a federal parliamentary democracy and semi-constitutional monarchy, currently led by Christine II as the head of state. There are three official languages - English, French and Korean - with local indigenous languages spoken in regional capacity. Quebec and Shingoryeo has one of the largest economies in both regions, which is built upon its strengths in heavy industry, finance and agriculture.

As the seat of the former Quebecois Empire and the current Quebecois Commonwealth, Quebec & Shingoryeo has stood as a major power in Anaia and Atlantian Oceania. It has also maintained its historical status as one of the major international powers in culture, science and philosophy - a feat achieved partly through the existence of Quebecois Commonwealth and its geopolitical location between Anaia, Atlantian Oceania and Rushmore, but also through long history of social and cultural homogeneity that originated from the nation's founding day. That said the nation, once an active participant in international wars, has stayed peaceful and relatively conflict-less, and is expected to uphold the past forty years of peacetime.

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BASIC QUESTIONS

Travelling to Quebec and Shingoryeo is a fun, multi-planar experience (lol) of own. It can feel daunting and all that - I totally understand it!

So, with this in mind, here are some travel tips you could use during the course of the Olympics:

1. Laws, laws and laws.

Quebec and Shingoryeo is known to be a fairly liberal country in terms of certain laws, and it's partly true. That is probably why you are smelling a bit of marijuana and may be drinking too much on an outdoor patio of a local delicatessen while walking down the street.

The minimum age to purchase and consume substances vary in what substance - 14 for alcohol, 16 for marijuana, and 21 for tobacco. Possession and consumption of said substances (which also include a narrow list of recreational drugs) outdoors are predictably legal as well, though some boomers and fitness maniacs may openly judge you if you do them in a park or somewhere that is public.

There is a total ban on indoor public smoking, however, and this extends to sporting events in general. Drinking on indoor venues, while not prohibited, will be frowned upon. Besides, why would you drink indoors when there is just a pub down the road with way cheaper and better quality Anju? Drugs trade, unless they are from a legal vendor and for legal substance, is banned. So if you are a local or a tourist, you are more than welcome to go to a state-owned Cannabiscorp or a co-op store and buy stuff instead.

What is no different than other past hosting nations are firearms. Firearm ownership, let alone use, is heavily restricted in Quebec and Shingoryeo with exceptions only given to those whose work requires it (e.g. shooters, pentathletes, some members of the police and the military), or those who have likely survived months and several dozen pages of the application process for a hunting rifle. For the sake of this competition, let's just assume that it's probably not a good idea to not bring your favourite Glock or Colt .45 to Quebecois soil.

2. Quebecois Pound (Q£) is the national currency. The exchange rate is roughly Q£1 = NSD 2.00. Foreign credit cards will be accepted into most bank ATMs.

3. As seen above, Quebec and Shingoryeo has three official languages - English, French and Korean - with local indigenous language(s) also used on a regional capacity. While all three languages will be used in an official capacity, the language dynamic there is a bit more complicated - the best way to describe this is by using a quote from Sylvain IV 'The Thinker', the great-grandfather of current Christine II - 'I speak English to a Banker, French to a Dancer, Korean to a Thinker, and the Original Tongue to a God.' In the Northwestern part of Quebec, English and Korean are primarily spoken.

4. Quebecois people are usually known to be talkative, celebratory and most importantly blunt, and they will rarely apologise or remain polite unless on close capacity. While those in need of help or directions will always be helped, and you will be set for a long time after that, it is expected that the help is asked first by those to whom this may concern. That said, once the help is sought out and all goes well, you will be set for the rest of your time here, and may have found yourself a lifelong mate to come stay over or drink with.

5. The rights of freedom of speech and assembly are guaranteed. That said, this does not mean freedom from consequences.

In adherence to the security protocol established back back in the Games of the 16th Olympiad, there will be strict security checks when entering the venues and team hotels, with additional personnel placed across the city. Unlike with the Olympics, however, there will be more lax security regulations -- flares, obscenely large banners and limited display of hooliganism will be tolerated. Displays of hate speech will not be tolerated, however.

6. The question of religion is a complicated one, perhaps even more so than languages. Traditionally, Roman Catholicism, Mahayana Buddhism, Anglicanism, and Indigenous religions are considered as four religious pillars of state and are viewed with particular interest by the state and people. All four pillars, as well as other minor religions, incorporate various elements of native shamanism and folk traditions and do not always follow the rules from Vatican or Canterbury, something that has complicated the authority-to-authority relations over the Interrealm portal.

The rights of religion are unquestioned here, and this will remain the same throughout the course of your stay in the country. People tend to be careful being aware of other person's religions though, and their way of addressing it is usually not asking about them. At least not on the first impression/moment, or else they are viewed as rude.

7. If you need police, fire or most importantly medical help, please call 777. (Yeah, it's literally 777).

Visitors and athletes of delegations will be able to receive excellent and prompt care from the city's hospitals and walk-in clinics under the People's Healthcare Services (PHS). Specialists may take a little bit longer time to reach, but for the most part, will be there for you in time. Those interested in consulting services re: traditional medicine will be given referrals, but those likely require a friend or two, or a local jack, who knows one.

8. Food and alcohol here should be fine, if slightly spicy. Influenced by the indigenous fare and the influences of haute cuisine coming from the Joseonian settlers of old, the Quebecois cuisine is largely based upon rice, and other diverse kinds of grains, vegetables, and meats. In this part of Calania, moose, lamb and caribou are known to be particularly popular, which have long survived the wave of delicacies that are no longer eaten.

They are also known for their intensive use of spices, sauces and pastes. Seafood is extremely popular across the country, though their affordability remains up in the air unless you reside on the West or East Coast - more inland parts usually consume freshwater fare instead. Quebecois do not have a particularly picky taste of alcohol in general, though what alcohol you drink usually depends on your cultural background and socioeconomic demographics. Smoking culture is massive here, and while cigarette smoking is very slowly declining over the years, marijuana's prominence in society is not something that's being challenged anytime soon.

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BRIEF INFORMATION ABOUT JOONGYEONG

The Royal Quebecois Olympic Committee (RQOC) welcomes all to Joongyeong, capital city and second-largest city of Quebec and Shingoryeo, for the seventeenth Olympic Winter Games. In the past, Joongyeong has hosted multiple qualifier events of both the Games of the XI Olympiad and the XVI Winter Olympics, and has hosted over several dozen international competitions within the city boundaries.

Located at the midway point between Fleuve Saint-Henri and the mouth of the River to the East Sea (also known to those outside as Grinshem Sea), Joongyeong is the nation's capital and widely viewed as the 'Soul of the Nation'. Founded in 1504, when Henri I, the founding monarch of the Jeong House, established the kingdom on a treaty between the indigenous tribes of the area, and named it 'Joongyeong', as the centrally-located capital, on the meeting place of all forces of power. Like with Songak Joongyeong quickly grew as did the Quebecois nation and subsequently the Empire, as Quebec City was the heart of the country where the intelligentsia argued about its identity, the nobility about how to survive and evolve in consistently changing world around them, and the foreign interests looking to take part in their own missions.

As the Quebecois Empire peaked in mid-1800s to early 1900s, the finest legacies of the era were often said to be 'built on Songak, Kingston and Halifax's might, the reach of the Quebecois National Railway Company, and flowered in Joongyeong'. That's why what we remember as Quebecois fin-de-siecle, one of the finest periods mentioned in history, literature art history textbooks, is heavily focused on the city itself. Unlike Montreal, where the romanticist and ideological movements were based more around nationality and also the class, philosophical and political movements continued to remain more abstract and existential in the 'Northern Paradise', guarded by Universite St. Croix's famous Seongyoongwan University College and its constituent colleges, as well as its cafes, sporting venues (horse races, polo, Taekgyeon and Sseuireum were lot more common back then) and salons.

There was for a period of time, especially in the 1940s-1960s during which the Capitol, partly due to the divide between Quebec and Novopetrogradian Soviet Union that brought temporary cold war before their reconciliation, as well as the Post-wartime euphoria, had seemed to be frozen back in time. Unlike Montreal, however, Joongyeong was able to maintain consistency in its own significance as both the Palais Royale, the Parliament and the house of all four Quebecois pillar religions (Buddhism, Anglicanism, Catholicism and Indigenous Religions) remained in the country (not that it was gonna leave anyway), and with innovative urban planning processes, Joongyeong has become the seat of relevance it sought on own.

Being the heart of Quebec, the 'City of Eternal Lights' is a traveller's paradise as hundreds of museums and monuments form the city. Among them, the most popular ones are the Commonwealth Museum, the Garam Museum of National History and Northern Calania, as well as Sainte-Victoire Gallery and Royal Shingoryeoite Gallery. The Royal Quebecois Ballet and the Quebec Philarmonic Orchestra, two largest among hundreds of classical arts organisations, are hosted in the Royal Walton Hall and Pavilion Bakhmeteff. While the nobility and haute bourgeoisie usually stays out of public celebrations and events, the city's force majorite is usually out in many festivals that dot the city's calendar - the most famous being QBC Proms that mark the city's summer. For those who come here to see some of the city's older histories, they would be charmed by the Daemyeonggong Palace, Sandringham Abbey and also Arlene and Richard Museum which do their best to explain the fabled history of the royals.

VENUES IN QUEBEC & SHINGORYEO

Saclay Zone:
Anneau Olympique de Saclay: Speed Skating
Halle-Bernard-Rouget: Short Track Speed Skating, Figure Skating

Mont-Christabel Zone:
Olympic Sliding Centre: Bobsleigh, Skeleton, Luge
Tremplin-Hirasawa Yukiko: Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined
Olympic Village

JOONGYEONG-PARC GIRARDOT:
Arena-Parc-Girardot: Ice Hockey, Medal Plaza, Ceremonies (Temporary structure with four arenas of around 6,000-8,000 seats made available for ice hockey)
Palais des Congres: MPC

As for the competition, Joongyeong has freezing, dry winters that stretch from October to April, which includes the cold temperature averaging below -10’C to keep outdoor hockey rinks and skatable inner-city canals safe and frozen. Its weather conditions are also affected by the presence of Fleuve-Saint-Henri, a 800km long, 10km wide river that connects it to Songak, the nation’s biggest city and economic centre to the west, and mouth of the Grinshem Sea to the east, something that that extremes and large swings occurring within the same day.

Due to Joongyeong’s low altitude, Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined and sleigh events will be hosted on the slopes of Mont-Christabel, a ski resort located just 30 kilometres away from heart of Joongyeong, and about half an hour away by public transit and car. Saclay, a suburb of Joongyeong that until recently hosted the IRSEA, national high-performance sports institute, will be hosting the skating events. Parc-Girardot, a major park located in the heart of Joongyeong’s historic Alexandre-IV District, will be hosting ice hockey events and ceremonies in its arenas and outdoor venues. This is where the MPC and the ceremonies will also occur.

In terms of logistics, Joongyeong's three zones have things fairly straightforward with the main forms of transportation between the three zones being via railways or by automobile. Most of Joongyeong and its surrounding area, which includes Mont-Christabel on the edge of it, is connected by either the Metro or the Rapido, a hybrid of commuter rail and rapid transit system mostly above ground (think of the RER). While the fare and the frequencies may depend between services (fear not, for the athletes and other members of the delegation receive a month-long railpass!), all three zones remain reachable within twenty minutes between Saclay and Parc-Girardot zones, and between 30 to 45 minutes between Mont-Christabel and the remaining two zones.

As for the athletes' village, Mont-Christabel resort will be serving the function, with sections blocked off to provide accommodation for all athletes and other members of the delegation. National delegations will be grouped together inside a building, with one room being made available for two athletes, but it is absolutely encouraged for athletes and members of delegations to hang out with other delegations at their convenience. Necessary accommodations will be made available. Access to necessary common space will be provided, as well as security to ensure that only those with credentials are allowed access to the accommodations.

[Srednjaci]

web site

OLYMPICS SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

XVII OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES - Quebec & Shingoryeo and New Gelderland !

COUNTRY :Srednjaci
TRIGRAM : SRE
CAPITAL: Katanija
NATIONAL ANTHEM : Narode Srednjački ( Srednjacian's)
FLAG BEARER : Lucijan Matković
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL OLYMPICIAN : Lucijan Matković-Biathlon , Three Gold Medals and one bronze medal
ENTRIES : 288
STUFF MEMBERS : 160
SPORTS ANTHEM : Svijet voli pobjednike ( World loves champions)

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The new Winter Olympic Games have started! Sports event of the sports year so far in the world of sports.
The Olympic Games are the Chreme de la Chreme of the sports world, and now winter sports are on the schedule. All the best that the world of winter sports has to offer is in Quebec & Shingoryeo and New Gelderland.
Quebec & Shingoryeo and New Gelderland won the joint bid and boldly and decisively embarked on the extremely demanding task of Olympics hosting.
We know that the hosts can perform this task at the highest level. All of us who followed the last Winter Olympic Games in Liventia know that Quebec & Shingoryeo and New Gelderland hosted many qualifying Olympic events.

Our Olympians brought 32 Olympic medals from the two Winter Olympic Games toour country.
At the first Olympic Games we participated in, the XV Games in Clayquot, Kelssek, our athletes won 5 medals, 2 gold medals, 1 silver medal and 2 bronze medals.
Ivana Ivanović brought us the first historical Olympic medal. Ivana won a silver medal in giant slalom, alpine skiing.
Nina Mandarić in the biathlon was the first to bring us a gold medal, and it was Nina who won the second gold at those games.
At the second Games in Liventia, the XVI Winter Games, our delegation already had many more athletes, but the sports infrastructure in our country was much more developed and built than at the first Games where we performed.
In Liventia we had a real harvest of medals, 10 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze medals. Even more so than at the Summer Olympics.
The incredible Lucijan Matković won 3 gold medals in biathlon and he was our most successful Olympian at those games. Tvrtko Ljutić also won 3 medals in alpine skiing, but he had one gold and two silvers.
Ana Turkulja also had three medals in ski jumping, one gold, one silver and one bronze.
The story of the games was the Mutavdžić sisters, who barely passed the bobsleigh qualification and then won the gold in the final!

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WHO WILL BE FIRST ON THE SPORTS BATTLEFIELD?

Tomorrow is the big opening of the games in both cities. It will be a fantastic simultaneous opening and events will complement each other from Eiran Mountains and Joongyeong.
Eiran Mountains will host the FREESTYLE SKIING women's and men's qualifications will be the first to perform.
Our representatives will be Vjeran Gerarić, Jan Zulović and Luka Berović in the men's competition and Sina Veri, Irma Kolutarić and Erna Golatarović in the women's competition.
Sina Veri is of course our biggest name in this sport. Sina defends the silver medal won in Liventia.

"Qualifications can always be a lottery. The competition is strong and doesn't forgive even the slightest mistake. I had a small virus, now I'm on vitamins, but I believe that I'm fine and that I can enter the finals," said silver Olympian Sina Veri

In the other host city, in Joongyeong, we are expecting a program in curling, mixed pairs. Two matches will be played. We will be represented by Goran Firičić and Jana Gotić.
A rich day will be in figure skating, the team event in the men's short program.
And for us, the focus will still be on the discipline in which we are extremely strong and have won many medals, namely ski jumping. Qualifications in the women's competition, normal hill, are scheduled.
We have strong names in that competition, Ana Turkulja, Ana Tea Lozančić, Iona Londrescu and Yoko Miyahira.
At the previous games, all of them were passed in to finals, but Ana Turkulja was fantastic in the final and became the Olympic winner. So we will definitely watch Ana Turkulja in the finals because she is going to the finals as an Olympic winner.

Let's wish luck to our athletes and wish them to be healthy.

[Waisnor]

What are we waiting for?

Waisnorian result in the last Olympics was even better than the last one, with some gold medalists defending their medals, most notably Waisnorian hockey team getting their second gold medal in a row, and so, further expansion of the Olympics roster was pretty obvious, only this time a cap of the 150 entries was placed. And expectably, all of this places were taken up. And since there wouldn't be qualifying rounds in this Olympics, all of them would get a shot at participating in the main events. And the competition in this Olympics will be rough, considering that almost all of the participating countries are pretty good in the Olympics. So, here's the summary of (possible) Waisnorian chances at this Olympics:

Biathlon has a medal to defend there by Tatiana Vorontsova in mass start, although even besides that Waisnor has some strong chances for medals, especially with Taras Kirillov and Leonid Chernetsky in men's tournaments and Vasilisa Dyukova in women's. Leonid is especially hyped up for a good performance, since he too wants to add another medal to his collection in additions to previous Olympics silver. In addition to that, he gets to participate in another relay race, now in mixed team.
Bobsleigh is one of the few disciplines where Waisnor doesn't have mayn chances at winning anything, with the best ranking entry, Alexandra Pavlova in monobob, being pretty mediocre, and pair of Yuri Burov and Denis Belyaev being even worse than that. Although, judging by previous Olympic results, they still could have a shot at medals.
Skeleton on the other hand has pretty much everybody with pretty strong skills. Although considering that 2 people out of delegationg of 3, that's nit saying much. These 2 people being Roman Konovalov and Ekaterina Ignatieva, who, while not having fullproof chances at the medals, they can pull off a fight and battle for their good results.
Curling's only Waisnorian representatives, mixed pair of Vyacheslav Buteets and Maria Telegina, want to throw off the idea of curling as something where Waisnorians can't have any success. And actually, they have some chances at doing that, although this pair doesn't expect to win a gold medal. But still, any medal would be good for them, and of course, for Waisnor.
Of course, the biggest expectations out of all of the Waisnorian delegation are placed on the ice hockey men's team. They have proved to be incredible after winning two Olympics gold medals in a row, backing it out with some nice results in the World Championships. And now the Waisnor waits and seeks an answer to a simple question - will they be able to win another gold medal, once again putting their names in the Olympic history?
Athletes in luge have a standard to look after - Vyacheslav Gorbachev, who won the bronze in the last Olympics and is undoubtedly primed for the repeat of this success, if not for something bigger. But tyalking about other athletes in luge, only Nikolay Safronov has any real chances at showing a good performance there.
Figure skating in Waisnor became the sport of bombastic performances and unclassical music choices, and now Waisnor can shoe off their style once again. Each gender has their big star - men have Dmitry Laburenko, women have Ekaterina Kovaleva. But the biggest chances at medals are coming from the pair of Alexander Kirpichnikov and Serafima Isaeva, who are primed to take some medals for the Waisnor.
Short track seems to be getting some nice levels of attention from Waisnorians, and so, Waisnor send some athletes, who could win some medals - Polina Khripach is once again participating in the Olympics, joined by Alina Suvorova in women's disciplines. For men their only really strong competitor is Gennady Kosinsky, who takes on two distances - 500 and 1000 metres, and he has good chances for good results in both.
Speed skating is the most successful sport for Waisnorians now, with 3 gold medals across 2 Olympics, and Waisnorian delegation has all the chances at winning another one. Every gold medalist from the part - Anatoly Rybakov, Alexander Gabrusevich and women's pursuit team are back in play, joined by other pretty bignames, like Stepan Zvyagin and Anna Smirnova. We also have an interesting case of sisters joining forces in the Waisnorian team, Valeria and Anastasia Karpova are both participating, although Valeria races on 1500m and Anastasia on 3000m.
Alpine skiing was a surprising breakout sports in the last Olympics with 2 gold medals. Current holders of them - Andrey Bordachev in alpine combined and Denis Berdyaev in slalom - are returning along with other athletes such as Innokenty Gryzlov. But Waisnorian delegation has some new faces, like Alexey Efimenko, and most importantly, Victoria Baeshko, probably the strongest participant in this sport.
Cross-country skiing also has some nice chances to get medals in this Olympics with such strong participants as Mikhail Serafimovich and Andrey Glebko at men's side and Irina Shchepina with Polina Demchenko at the women's. And even if they all fail, Waisnor has some supply of dark horses like Magdalena Orłowska and Konstantin Noskov, who could claw out their victories.
Waisnor really prides themselves on victories in freestyle skiing, especially their medals in men's aerials in RL Olympics. In this category Waisnor will be represented by pretty good pair of Artyom Borodkin and Bogdan Radilov. Waisnor also has a lot of pretty good freestylers at this Olympics - Paweł Osiński, Yuri Artyukhov, Anna Balalaeva, Milana Dolisnia and Marina Koloshkina are there to show why freestyle skiing is one of the "Waisnorian sports" of the Winter Olympics, and by God, they are gonna win some medals.
Nordic combined is pretty mediocre for Waisnorians, but still, Matvey Bozhko, Artyom Penkovsky and Natalia Semenova have some promises for the good results. Of course, all of them want to show that Waisnor could show their spirit even in sports they don't consider lucky.
Even though ski jumping is also a pretty uncomfortable sport for Waisnorians, the delegation has a really good athletes - Artur Buinitsky participating in both men's tournaments with some high chances for good results. Aside from that, other athletes aren't too good, but still, people like Pavel Pechur and Varvara Kulishova could be surprise winners.
As we are closing with snowboarding, we have a lot of hopes there. The biggest one is connected to Artur Pavlovich, who won two gold medals in a row in men's big air, and now he strives to get their thirs one. Other people having great chances at gold are Alexander Rykov and Danila Ovsyannikov. Women's representation isn't so big, but still, athletes like Anna Karaban and Judyta Rogowska could bring much needed medals to Waisnorian team.

[Cap Nord]

Tonight, the 17th Winter Olympic Games will get their simultaneous, festive openings in Joongyeong and the Eiran Mountains and that will be in the presence of a sizable Capnordic delegation, nicely split between the two ceremonies. Our sixteen curlers, skaters and figure skaters will make their appearance in the Parc-Girardot with the shorttrack team remaining in the Mont-Christabel resort to prepare for their opening appearance the day after. In New Gelderland, we will see twenty athletes, a mix of skiers, cross country skiers and biathletes fly the flag for Cap Nord. The latter will be quite literal for 18-year old Gyda Lien from Lygsdalen, as the youngster of the selection gets the honor to be the flagbearer. Remarkable, the other three members of the mixed relay team will call in absence with an eye on their competition. The counterpart of Lien, veteran figure skater Miguel Premontagne, holds the standard in Joongyeong. The latter already described it as the ‘defining moment of his career’.

As is suitable for the occasion, our athletes will make an appearance in the CNOC-sanctioned outfits but the choice of the Committee with regards to the designer did not go by unnoticed. The opportunity befell the controversial 28-year old Grete Hvidt-Larsen, member of a loose organization of young couturiers dubbed the ‘Nordplats Five’ after the location of the Lydholm School for Design. The Five symbolize an important rupture in the domestic fashion trends. Even if there had been specific accents throughout the last two decades, one could spot a general preference towards romantic and naturalistic themes. Later this evolved (or devolved, some critics will say), to impractical designs with lots of accessories and delicate cloths.

Nothing of the like with Hvidt-Larsen and her peers, who draw back to the older, robust themes but add to it a more urban feel. And that will be visible on Lien, Premontagne and their fellow Olympians. Since the ‘Counterrevolution’, a returning appreciation for a more strict and structured society trickles down in the design but no one takes on this influence as headfirst as Hvidt-Larsen. She has opted for a clear militaristic influence as can be seen in the high top hats, the sharp lines and most notably in the epaulets in red and yellow on the dark blue jackets. The ski pants lack any sort of frills or fringes and the influence is reflected in the fabrics as well, with synthetic options picked. For the shoes, trendy sneakers were chosen in hard, metallic colors. The choices from Hvidt-Larsen might be better received in parliament than on the catwalks, but they will without any doubt turn a lot of heads.

[Ioudaia]

Champion Network Broadcast
Champion Olympic Studio
Trethanton, New Gelderland

Sophia: Welcome to Champion Network's complete coverage of the 17th Winter Olympics! I'm Sophia Laskaridou and these are my co-hosts Mihr Utz and Pari bat Nita. Even before the Games have started, there's been shocking news. Peneleos ben Chadad has announced that he'll retire at the end of these Olympics.

"As the international security situation in the Western Isles has deteriorated, the Expeditionary Forces have recalled me to full-time military service. This has been a possibility since I began Olympic competition, and the simple fact is that soldiers follow orders, even medal-winning soldiers.

"This is the best time to make this announcement. Had I waited until the conclusion of these Winter Games, there would be unfounded rumors. If I'd won a medal – and I fully intend to do my best to do so – people would say I was going out on top, and if I hadn't, people would say I was past my prime. Neither is the case. Duty has called, nothing more. I thank both the Ioudaian Armed Forces and the Ioudaian Olympic Committee for honor of Olympic competition."

Mihr: Wow! That's going to be a big change for the team going forward!

Sophia: Yes, it will be. Peneleos has been unofficial team captain for all the skiers, not just the biathletes where he competes, but also the cross-country skiers and even the alpine skiers. And that's even with Tamid ben Ebron on the alpine ski team, and he's part of the Sports Ministry!

Pari: Did the team find out in advance, or is this the first they've heard about it as well?

Sophia: Champion's source says that the skiers have known since they arrived in the Olympic Village, and the rest of the team has known since this morning. But our source didn't say a peep until just before Peneleos went on the air. That's the kind of respect Peneleos has: nobody spilled the beans, and if there's more to this story, nobody ever will.

Mihr: I'd like to add one other key thing here: the respect goes both ways. Peneleos always thinks and says the best for the team and the best for each of the people on it. So, I'm going to say that he announced his retirement now, before the Games, to inspire his team-mates. I think he knows they'll push just a little harder to give him a good send-off.

Sophia: That's a good point. With the biathlon and cross-country competition starting on Day 1, they'll have enough time for him making it official to settle and for them to react with their hearts, not just knowing it's going to happen with their minds. It's a big difference.

Pari: And that's an excellent segue to our introduction to the games: these Winter Games get off to a strong start for Ioudaia. Not only are we leading off with biathlon and cross-country, where Ioudaia's won medals before, but we're also starting with figure skating and freestyle skiing, two other strong events for Ioudaia.

First up will be the skaters. Can Lois Antoniadis and Deukalion Hatzis improve on last Games' silver medal routine? And can the men get into medal contention again? Starting figure skating so early in the Games is a new thing, so there's going to be a lot of tension about whether the team can rise to the occasion with less practice at the Olympic skating rink.

Sophia: Excellent points! And Champion will start its coverage of the figure skating, and all the other Olympic events tomorrow morning. So tune in or click on Champion's live stream then!

[Krytenia]

XVII WINTER OLYMPICS PREVIEW

ALPINE SKIING
MEDAL HISTORY: 5-3-5
HISTORY PENPIC: Considered by many to be the main attraction of the Winter Games, alpine skiing tends to be more of a side dish for the Krytenians. That said, they have a pretty decent record throwing themselves down the side of a mountain. Chantelle Alcott, Mia Bell, and Andy Snow are all double medallists in the discipline, whilst Fleur Blondin and Mary Black were the most recent medal winners in Clayquot eight years ago.
PROSPECTS: Blondin returns to try and regain a medal after coming up short four years ago, and will fancy her chances in the Super-G and downhill events. Look out too for veterans Carlos Villa and René Saint-Croix in the men's events.

BIATHLON
MEDAL HISTORY: 2-1-2
HISTORY PENPIC: Five medals in two Winter Olympics, and both golds won by a certain James Makone.
PROSPECTS: Makone may now be concentrating on his shooting skills, but that doesn't mean there's no chance of medals. Lewis Monaghan has snuck under the radar and could have a chance in the men's 20km, whilst Catherine Rushcliffe is running the gamut in the women's events.

BOBSLEIGH
MEDAL HISTORY: 1-2-1
HISTORY PENPIC: There's something a little crazy about the sliding events, which you'd imagine would be right up our street. And yet, four medals total, all in two-person bob, including a gold/bronze combo in the two-woman event in Ashton.
PROSPECTS: Given our history in the event, it might be surprising that the biggest chance in in the four-man event this time around. The team of Fedi Correa, Cimo Mayo, Juan Diácono, and Rogelio Sastre will be hoping to break our duck in that regard. For the women, Georgina Massa and Jane Whitmore are an outside bet in the two-woman.

CROSS COUNTRY SKIING
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-3-1
HISTORY PENPIC: We were good at cross-country once. No, literally once, in City Centre at the Eighth Winter Olympics. Three of our four medals come from that games, with a twenty-eight year wait for the fourth.
PROSPECTS: Sprint skier Michael Ostensen leads the men's team, with Antoine Guignard also at the peak of his powers in the 15km classical and 30km skiathlon events. For the women, Claudia Locke in the 50km freestyle is probably our best shot.

CURLING
MEDAL HISTORY: 2-1-0
HISTORY PENPIC: Krytenia's curlers burst onto the scene in São Jorge, dominated on home ice...and promptly decided never to bother the podium again.
PROSPECTS: Krytenia are sending their strongest men's and women's teams in years, as well as a solid pairing in the mixed doubles event in the form of Stuart Vollmer and Jessica Karlsson. Is an end to the drought on the cards?

FIGURE SKATING
MEDAL HISTORY: 1-1-1
HISTORY PENPIC: Figure skating isn't the most successful sport for Team Krytenia if we're honest; we do, however, cut a decent niche when it comes to ice dance. All three of the nation's medals have come in this most artistic of disciplines.
PROSPECTS: David Lennox and Anna Seward acquitted themselves well in the ice dance four years ago. Look out, too, for teenager Rachel Smith, who might just get the country's first ever individual figure skating medal.

FREESTYLE SKIING
MEDAL HISTORY: 4-1-4
HISTORY PENPIC: Krytenia have traditionally done pretty well in the skicross events, including a rare one-two in the men's event in Clayquot. Since then, our country's skiers have also discovered a knack for slopesyle, winning with Chantelle Greene winning the last two women's events and Steven Eales adding a gold for the men in City Centre four years ago.
PROSPECTS: Greene and Eales return with rivals from their own camp in tow, with Scarlett Torsten and Rita Owen in with a shout for the women, and Michael Osman and Max Mawson looking to make the men's podium. Peter Casey, Paul Verazano, Olivia Chatrier and Anise Kershaw will be dangers in their respective skicross events, and there could even be chances in some of the other events too. For the men, look out for Aiden James in the big air event, and the moguls trio of Carlos Figueredo, Oliver Molyneux, and Paul Mooney. On the women's side of things, meanwhile, Angelica Lindstrom and Chrissie Smith-Clark will be looking to make tricks and turn heads in the halfpipe.

ICE HOCKEY
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-0-0
HISTORY PENPIC: We prefer it on grass, thanks.
PROSPECTS: Calling all opponents: get your free group stage win here.

LUGE
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-1-0
HISTORY PENPIC: Dominique Kelly is pub trivia gold, being our only luge medallist all the way back in Aeropag.
PROSPECTS: Anything in the top 20 would be seen as a success, if we're honest.

NORDIC COMBINED
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-0-0
HISTORY PENPIC: So bad that we've literally sent nobody on occasion. Most Krytenians would assume that Gundersen used to play in midfield for Franz Josef FC.
PROSPECTS: Laughable.

SHORT TRACK
MEDAL HISTORY: 15-6-11
HISTORY PENPIC: Thirty-two medals. Krytenia is an absolute short track conveyor belt, especially if your name is Adam Goddard or Leah Makkinen, both of whom have five medals apiece.
PROSPECTS: YES. Krytenia only won two medals last time out – Stephanie Youghal in the women's 1500m and the men's 5km relay team – and they'll be looking to redress that particular balance.

SKELETON
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-0-1
HISTORY PENPIC: Who would throw themselves down an ice chute head first? Aside from Kelly Costa, of course, who won our only skeleton medal with bronze in Cafundeu
PROSPECTS: Jordan Estevez and Penny Venturi have the right mix of talent and disregard for common sense to do well.

SKI JUMPING
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-0-0
HISTORY PENPIC: We're reasonably adept at throwing ourselves down a mountain, but apparently draw the line at throwing ourselves off one.
PROSPECTS: Anna Sokova and Sandra Clay are both hoping to win Krytenia's first ski jumping medal. Joining them on the large hill is Aoife Ní Súilleabháin, who you won't be surprised is of Sorthern descent.

SNOWBOARDING
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-1-2
HISTORY PENPIC: A bit of a wash...unless we're talking Natalie Freedan in the snowboard cross. Peter Quentin's silver in the men's version of the same event was our first medal in snowboarding since she retired.
PROSPECTS: Quentin is back to try and upgrade to gold, whilst Eddie McTiernan, James Berkovic (both big air), and the wonderfully named Axel McGinn (halfpipe) will also be looking to make the podium. Look out for Nina Zabel in the women's big air, and snowboard slopestyler Dominica Moreno as well.

SPEED SKATING
MEDAL HISTORY: 4-1-1
HISTORY PENPIC: Krytenia collected four medals in Aeropag before the long track event took a back seat to...well, take a wild quess. Nobody told Alania Ferreira this four years ago, mind.
PROSPECTS: Ferreira defends her 5km title as well as going for 3km glory, with Rachel Neeskens looking dangerous in the shorter events. For the men, Jack Orsini is looking to mark his swansong with at least one medal, and Peter Olney goes for gold – or at least bronze – in the mass start.

[New Gelderland]

This is the Day 0 cutoff.

[Valanora]

The winter olympiad is set to begin and as per tradition, the Empire is sending a delegation to represent them in the games. However for those back in the Empire, one should not set their hopes too high for a high medal count for a few different reasons, rather they should be happy to merely see the games as a celebration of sport and a gathering of those who all seek to celebrate all the great things that sport brings to us. As a way of forming bonds and relationship with other nations and cultures, exchanging ideas and customs, the games are always a bit of a success for those from the Empire, even if the medal count that is brought back to homelands could be construed as something of a disappointment to those who are so accustomed to success in sporting ventures.

Why though does athletes from the Empire tend to struggle in the Olympics, be it the summer or winter olympiad, when they have at least moderate success in nearly every other competition that the Empire enters into? Well as mentioned before, there are a few different reasons for the lack of real success in the Olympics and starting with one of the most obvious ones, it is because sport in the Empire is often a team sport where the best athletes pick from a variety of team sports to decide to pursue (usually football, ice hockey, or basketball). Individual sports are not the norm in the Empire, with a bit of an exception towards archery and various forms of fencing, much as a result of the way that sport developed and has been viewed for centuries within the empire as form of community bonding and faux wars. With not a lot of resources put into training athletes in things like track, swimming, tennis, and other assorted sports that concentrate on individuals, those representing the Empire have to rely more on merely pure skill and talent compared to that talent having been groomed and developed over years with elite training.

Another reason is that the competitions are split between the genders, which is not something that happens within the Empire, this is in large part due to the elves heritage where there was very little differences in physical capabilities between the sexes. The humans in the Empire also seem to have less extreme differences in those physical characteristics compared to many other nations, so they are used to playing in mixed gendered teams. Thusly when they reach the olympics and are split by the sexes, then it comes at a huge deficit with both sets of teams missing some of their best players as a result and behind the eight ball compared to the rest of their competition. While by no means are this reasons an excuse, it does explain why there is generally a lack of success outside the team sports, which are already hyper competitive at these games. If perhaps there were a few more team games for the Empire to have a representative in, there might be a few more medals, but it would be only a small amount compared to the entire breath of Vanorian presence in the games. More success would require more resources put into those fringe sports, which currently seems unlikely, and so we have to resort to hoping those rare special talented individuals are good enough to earn those spots on the podium.

[Srednjaci]

XVII Olympic Winter Games-Eiran Mountains & Yoongyeong

Dear viewers, good day!
The biggest sporting event in the world of sports, the Olympic Games, has begun. The repertoire includes the Winter Olympics in New Gerderland's Eiran Mountains and Quebec and Shingoryeo's Yoongyeong!
We watched two magical simultaneous opening games and our flag bearers were Lucijan Matković in Eiran Mountains and Ana Turkulja in Yoongyeong.
The magnificent and breathtaking opening ceremony left us in awe. The hosts made a great effort to make these games spectacular.
Our expedition came to defend 27 medals from the past games hosted by Liventia. 10 of them were gold. Ana Turkulja, one of the our defending Olympic champions, was the first to perform.
Ana performed in the ski jumping qualification and won the qualification.


ANA TURKULJA : 22 Years Old, Born in town Domislavić, 36 km from Katanija
NORMAL HILL domestic and international record : ( 5- gold , 2-silver,2-bronze, TOTAL : 9 medals) 1 Olympic Champion (individual), 2 gold- domestic Champion, 1 DRESS women's team champion, 1 DRESS Mixed team Champion, 1 Silver Medal Olympics Mixed Team, 1- silver domestic medal individual, 1- bronze Olympic medal individual (Clayquot),1 Bronze Medal Olympic women's team
LARGE HILL : 1 gold -Domestic Championship, 1 silver medal DRESS competition, 2- Silver domestic medals

ANA TURKULJA VS ANA TEA LOZANČIĆ

For years, Ana Tea Lozančić was untouchable in the domestic competition in ski jumping. But then the younger one Ana Turkulja appeared and managed to seriously shake the throne on which Lozančić was sitting.
Two years ago, Ana won the national championships on both ski jumps hills, normal hill and large hill. This season, before the start of the Olympic Games, she was second in the domestic championship on the normal hill and the international DRESS competition (Dotivija, Raspotochje, East Slavona & Srednjaci). Both times she looked at the back to Ana Tea Lozančić. Also in large hill.
The rivalry between these two continues at these games. Ana Tea Lozančić came as national and DRESS champion and national record holder on both hills. This 25-year-old jumper from Katanija has great results and enters tomorrow's final from sixth place in the qualifications. But Ana Tea has one small minus in Olympic competitions. Ana Tea never managed to win a medal in individual competition. She has silver and bronze from team competitions. Despite dominating the domestic championship, Ana Turkulja has a far better and more successful career at the Olympic Games. The fourth place on Large Hill in Liventia is the best achievement of our champion. Whether she can change the course of history at these games remains to be seen in the final.
Yoko Miyahira and Iona Londrescu were successful in the qualifications. Both will compete in the final for the second time in a row. Our former champion Iona Londrescu is slowly entering her veteran years, but she still jumps very well and her form is on an upward trajectory. Miyahira is the bronze winner from the individual Large hill in Liventia. It does better on large hills, but it is not to be written off on normal hills either.

---

VANJA HANDANOVIĆ RUNNING TO THE DEFEND THE SILVER MEDAL

Our silver Olympian and national champion Vanja Handanović successfully completed the women's moguls qualification. Vanja finished in sixth place with one mediocre exercise for her and went to the finals.
Our other contestants did not make it to the finals. Frana Mogulović finished in 25th place and Jasna Versa in 54th place.

"Qualifications are always more difficult than the main competition in the finals. The very thought that you can get stuck in the qualifications even with the smallest error puts a lot of pressure on us. When I enter in to the finals, then I know that I have nothing to lose, I perform relieved of the pressure. So I'm glad that I managed to make it in to the finals because many other quality girls didn't make it."

MEN'S

In the men's competition, the fifth-placed qualifier Nadan Olujić and eighth-placed Emil Slutsky will see the finals, while Viki Meštrović finished in 31st place and the door to the finals are firmly closed for him.

---

BIATHLON— Mixed 4x6km Relay

It sounds incredible and odd that our biathlon mixed relay has never won an Olympic medal!
Although the top names of world biathlon performed for us, three-time gold medalist Lucijan Matković, two-time Olympic winner from Clayquot Nina Mandarić, then Ivana Mandarić with 3 Olympic medals and Ivan Sutov, who is an integral member of the men's relay team, current Olympic winners and defending champions from Liventia.
At two Olympic Games, our mixed relay took two fourth places. Hopefully it's medal time now! It's time to end that circle of fourth places and for these top names to finally add gold in the mixed relay to their rich collection of medals.
The final is scheduled for today and we believe it will be extremely exciting.
At the DRESS competition, our mixed relay team was convincing and won the gold ahead of the Raspotochje relay team.

Of course, you can follow all competitions on the first 3 WAS programs live and in the evening in recordings and highlights. For couple of hours we are going live from Olympics.
We wish to our athletes best of luck, we wish them much success and we hope that we will manage to win at least one medal.
Thanks for your attention for now.

[Electrum]

The Turnip: Electrumite Success In Sporting Tournaments Is Seemingly Correlated With The Turnip Article Publication Rate
by Billiam Maskey, chief-editor-in-chief

In a quite frankly unbelievable turn of events, it has been found that Electrumite Success In Sporting Tournaments Is Seemingly Correlated With The Turnip Article Publication Rate.

Take this as a statistic: In the eight Cup of Harmony cycles since the return of Electrum, we qualified for the prestigious Cup of Harmony a massive six out of eight times. That's unbelievable and unprecedented. That's rarer than Electrum winning a medal at the Summer Olympics. No one can match that level of success, truly. It was a massive failure that in only two cycles that we failed to qualify for the Cup of Harmony. And one of those times we voluntarily gave up our spot at the Cup of Harmony to host the smaller, less prestigious World Cup.

Another example? We didn't publish an article yesterday and defending gold medallist in the men's moguls, Todd Baranov, did not finish his run and then failed to qualify in his second attempt! Never mind the fact that he's been recovering from a recurring knee injury. And never mind the fact that he's competing in a nation and town that barely exists. And never mind the fact that comedy usually comes in threes and we've failed to write a joke here. We're deciding to ignore subjective facts in order to declare that Electrumite Success In Sporting Tournaments Is Seemingly Correlated With The Turnip Article Publication Rate.

It is rather strange that not one news publication has alluded to this fact. In fact it makes us believe that somehow the worldwide sporting media are conspiring to fix results. We speculate that there is some kind of a system that translates stories into results. Someone's reading The Turnip articles and rewarding Electrumite athletes for it. We're sure of it. It's the only logical explanation. There has to be some kind of sentient being that looks kindly on articles written by washed up freaks. And just like in our previous coverage where we've drawn the link between elections and sporting events, and wars and sporting events, and sporting events and sporting events, it seems like wow this sentence is quite long and run-on.

Anyways nations who give a damn about tournaments to send a reporter tend to do very well, whereas other nations who like to send athletes but no reporters, yes looking at you Ko-oren, don't.

[Waisnor]

Waisnorian things: how acquired programming was bought up

First of all, since this is Olympics, we'll quickly go through results until we go to the main part:
Paweł Osiński and Yuri Artyukhov landed themselves in "light green" spot in freestyle skiing men's moguls, while Jan Shostak placed 23rd at best
In women's moguls all participants failed to qualify to the finals - Maria Korobova placed 13th, Daria Sokolovskaya 22nd and Kristina Eremchuk - 31st
Mixed pair in curling of Vyacheslav Buteets and Maria Telegina won both of their matches against Hayafari Zulandar & Misha Immaratunidah of Alezian Union and Braam Nibhanupudi & Cindy Alonso of Diarcesia, placing them joint 1st
In figure skating team event, performances by ice dancers Alexey Mokhorev & Julia Krasiy and pair of Alexander Kirpichnikov and Serafima Isaeva, who placed 5th and 3rd respectively, managed to mitigate a subpar performance from Dmitry Laburenko in men's singles, placing only 14th. Overall so far Waisnorian team is 5th.
Varvara Kuleshova qualified to the final of ski jumping women's individual normal hill tournament, placing 32nd, while Nika Yarulina failed to do so, placing 68th.

Our main RP this time will be connected with foreign programming appearing on Waisnorian television. The start of this was laid out in 1993, when Hélène et les Garçons was bought up by WT. Also '93 was the year when Waisnorian regional TV channels were beginning to gain prominence, mostly by showing many of the most popular series, which WT was not willing to show. Seinfeld, Twin Peaks and NYPD Blye were shown there without any cuts... but also sometimes with no dubbing or a one-man one, with this series being shown without any rights. There is a saying that main program directors in the 1990's were street vendors selling video cassettes with the TV series and movies. By that time, WT was not that many foreigh series, exceptions being Baywatch and Frasier.
After 2000 and reorganisation of WT to WBC, one big series was picked to serve as a big example of a good dub. The series picked was The X-Files, and it was pretty good in terms of ratings, but a year later this results wouldn't be so relevant. In 2001, premieres of Simplemente María and Muñeca Brava did not only achieve great ratings, but also bringed the short lived era of domination of telenovelas on Waisnorian television, which also included more Latin American telenovelas, like Amigas y rivales and British ones, like EastEnders and Coronation Street, although British ones weren't so successful. In the early 2000's, NTV channel was beginning to challenge First National in the ratings, and a big part of it was the so called "Swear Trio", known for not cutting away swear words in the dubs. It was composed of Deadwood, first big American TV series on NTV, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which gained a lot of popularity for being such a controversial series in the Age of Riot, and Hell's Kitchen, pretty much the only reality show to gain a sizeable fanbase in Waisnor. Alongside this, Jetix channel was popular with the kids, whose lineup consisted of many European cartoons, some anime like Shaman King and some live action shows, especially Disney seasons of Power Rangers, which weirdly gained some fanbase among Waisnorians still surviving to this day.
In the late 2000's, First National, and lately Second Cinema Channel, finally began catching up to the popular TV series, getting shows like Lost, CSI and Breaking Bad, and the new channel T4 was getting invested in the anime, putting Soul Eater in their lineup, with it becoming the first anime on national Waisnorian television. But the biggest series is coming up soon.
In 2011, Generator Rex appeared on Second Cinema channel, and not only became an instant hit with Waisnorians but pretty much became a cultural reset for the whole nation, and in 2012, it battled with a new show for First National, Doctor Who, in the Battle of Third Seasons. NTV definitely needed to answer that, with Game of Thrones becoming their truly efficient answer. Second Cinema also decided to show some series from the oart to let Waisnorians to catch up, with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Malcolm in the Middle being a part of this block. Meanwhile, T4 basically became Waisnorian sci-fi channel, with initially Star Trek, and later Young Justice and Arrowverse becoming a big part of their prime time. Success of Generator Rex also became a big part of animated series appreciation on Waisnorian television, with Second Cinema in particular buying out some, with My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba becoming a part of prime time lineup and Rick and Morty and Venture Bros placed on nighttime.
Overtime, First National featured series such as House of Cards, Mr. Robot and Westworld, while NTV was getting Sons of Anarchy, Mad Men and Peaky Blinders. Latest additions to the collections were Last of Us for First National and House of the Dragon for NTV.

[Cap Nord]

At the starting line of the mixed relay, the traditional opener of the biathlon competitions, a lot of eyes will be pinned on 29-year old Dorian Moreau from Saint-Cathérine. In part as he will be opening the event in Riverside Park as a male biathlete, whilst the tactical rules prescribe that that position should have been kept for either Susanna Ek or Gyda Lien. National coach Stefan Lidstrom already explained that he opts for an unconventional order, swapping out Moreau for Ek in third position, as a means to better position the female national champion. Known for her strength on the skis, the ambition is to let Moreau create an advantage on the field which Lien should be able to hold on to. After her stint, Ek can attempt to lift in the slipstream of some medal candidates before launching the closing member of the quartet, Valentin Lemoine.

The focus is also caused by the deliberate choice of the contentious Moreau to opt for the mixed relay over the men's relay, an event considered more prestigious domestically. Whilst his form can be rather capricious, few will doubt that at his peak, Dorian Moreau is the strongest among the male contestants. Still, the victor of 27 CNCC Trophy rounds (which ranks him fourth all-time, five wins shy of the second spot) keeps his schedule limited to three events: the mass start, the twenty kilometers (his specialty) and the mixed relay. This contrasts with a Susanna Ek, his counterpart in the female selection who appears at all starting lines in her insatiable hunger for silverware. Initially, Moreau had been selected for both relay events but between his budding rivalry with Tennfjord and open animosity towards Gulbrandsen, the born-and-raised Fronterrian declined the invite. He limits himself to the mixed event, where he leaves the final position open to his personal protege Valentin Lemoine. Seven years younger but hailing from the same valley, the timid Lemoine is one of the few biathletes to maintain a strong bond with the reigning CNCC Trophy title holder.

But for the millions of international viewers who tune in on the action in the Eiran Mountains, unaware of the domestic controversy surrounding the position of Dorian Moreau, the most notable element will be the ‘crown salute’ made by Moreau before taking off. Said salute, a military greeting with a closed fist, recently gained popularity but has not been without its critics. Returning to the status of a kingdom three years ago, the government struggled to go back to the imagery of the period before the Silk Revolution. Even if democratic Cap Nord is considered a mere interlude in the grander scheme of things by the ruling elite, there are certain associations of the old regime which King Harold wishes to leave in the past. But even without any central instruction, one sees more and more members of various instances make this gesture, be it policemen, soldiers or other public servants.

For some, it is a beautiful testimony to the courageous Capnordic nature. After all, the ‘crown salute’ is said to draw its origin from ‘Lecasto, the brave patriot’ who traveled the length of the Capnordic isthmus to warn the coastal villagers of the incoming hordes. According to the legend, the hailstorms froze his unprotected right hand so much that an uncanny salute was his only option upon his arrival in Carbécourt. Lecasto did not survive his brave journey, but the gate to the peninsula could protect itself in time and safeguard the nation. It goes without saying that for a winter athlete, this story reverberates even further and Dorian Moreau, born in a family of police commissars, made no secret of his personal connection to the gesture. But to others, the signal echoes a yearning for a more grim chapter of our national history. After all, the ‘crown salute’ was very popular among the Security Services or ‘Curvi’ that played a major role in the terror which befell political opposition before the Silk Revolution. Even if the institution has not been reinstated by Chief Minister Dalving, many of its former members found spots in the bureaucracy of the leading tiers of the NUP, linking the ruling party to fascism for its critics. Moreau and various other athletes seem unphased by this allegation, with the former calling the ‘crown salute’ a moral obligation if one holds pride in our nation. Needless to say that the last word has not been written about this matter yet.

[Ioudaia]

Figure Skating — Rhythm Dance
Halle-Bernard-Rouget
Saclay, Quebec & Shingoryeo

Eitan Omid seemed to have developed an intense interest in the tracings he and Rumya Reut had left in the ice near his feet. "I don't think we should have kept trying to fix the ending."

"Nope," said Rumya, not turning away from the scoreboard.

They slunk off the ice, gazes down, and sat as far from their teammates and coach as possible while still remaining with the team.

Hippon Zer made his way over to them. "Don't worry about it, guys. Things happen. We're barely into the team event; we'll make up for it."

Rumya turned and tried to smile and nod at him, but the result was as sincere as a politician's promise. Eitan muttered something without looking up. Hippon shrugged, but sat down on the bench behind them anyway. The three of them sat silently through the rest of the rhythm dance competition.

Eitan winced as he watched Zakai's and Keidar's scores come in for the pairs part; he wanted to just sink into the floor. Rumya kept texting on her phone, even as Hippon left to congratulate Ioudaia's pair. To her annoyance, he returned to his seat behind them; couldn't he just let them suffer in peace?

Hippon turned at motion off to his side. "Oh, that reporter from Champion is here. What's his name... uh, Mihr? Let's go talk to him." He rose, but Eitan and Rumya remained unmoved. "Fine," he added. "I know you guys wish it had gone differently, but talking about it might help." Silence. "Alright, I'll run interference for you, tell Mihr something harmless and keep him from asking too much." He left them.

After a moment, Rumya turned to Eitan. "Do you think we should...?"

"Nah. No need to admit being stupid to the world."

They returned to silence, waiting for their teammates to leave the arena.

[Obrela]

Obrelan Sports Network Broadcast
Halle-Bernard-Rouget, Saclay Zone

[As the camera pans over the stadium, the list of skaters taking to the ice comes up on screen, before vanishing. It cuts to a shot of a smartly dressed young lady sitting on a dark blue sofa. She is shuffling some papers, and looks up to smile at the camera when she sees it's focused on her.]

Pele Asiata: Hello everyone, and welcome back to the OSN's coverage of the Winter Olympic Games! If you're just tuning in, we are building up to the ice skating here in Yoongyeong. Here in the studio with me I have two former national figure skaters, it's Iasona Tui and Mataio Latu!

[The camera cuts to two men sitting on the other side of the sofa, who both smile. Iasona raises a hand to the camera in greeting, before turning back to Pele.]

Pele Asiata: So gentlemen, you skated nationally for Obrela, but this is the first time we've ever made it to the Olympics. How proud are you of this generation Iasona?

Iasona Tui: Yeah, really proud. There are so many talented up and coming skaters in Obrela, it's fantastic to see. These young men and women truly are a credit to their country, and their coach, and, you know, whatever happens we should be proud of them.

Pele Asiata: Indeed. Mataio I'm going to come to you. If someone had said to your younger self that you would have had a career in ice skating, what would he have said.

[Mataio chuckles before answering.]

Mataio Latu: Haha, uhh yeah, I'd have probably said you had caught a small fry*, but you know, 20 years on and I'm sitting here about to watch one of our most promising Obrelan teams in a long time.

Pele Asiata: Now that's actually a perfect segue into the skater we're about to watch, Hawea Naea. Only 19 years of age, and here he is representing his country. I mean he's not even out of school yet.** What are your thoughts on this young skater?

Mataio Latu: Well, I've seen him in training with his coach and he's looked absolutely amazing for his age, he just needs to work on those expressions and putting emotion into his work, because technically he's wonderful.

Iasona Tui: Yeah, echoing what Mataio said, he's a brilliant young skater, but he needs that maturity and expression to really take it up a notch.

Pele Asiata: Well, I know you guys back home have stayed up late for this, so here it is, Obrela's debut in the Winter Olympics. It's Hawea Naea performing his short programme to "Winter Bird" by AURORA!

[The crowd applauds as Hawea makes his way on the ice. He skates into the centre of the rink and crouches down, the blue and white tiny jewels on his black body suit sparkling in the light. The haunting music starts and he extends his leg in a rond de jambe, spinning slowly. This brings him up to a standing position as he raises his arms above his head and takes off across the ice. Skating off around the rink to one corner, he executes a camel spin which he flings himself out of to come back to the middle of the ice rink, where he performs a sit spin/donut spin combination. This stuns the crowd, who break into applause as he continues. As the chorus begins, he starts the footwork section, deftly executing crossovers and mohawk turns across the front of the rink. Then into the jumps. Triple axel, double axel, flip. He stumbles at the end, but steadies himself with his arms. He finishes with a skate into the center of the rink, crouching down in a pose much like the start. The camera zooms out and as the applause starts, the people in the studio fade in over the top.]

Pele Asiata: Well, that was just a stunning routine!

* "Small fry" Obrelan term for lie, stemming from fishermen thinking they had caught a big strong fish, and finding it to be a small fish "lying" to them.
** There is free mandatory education in Obrela up to 21, and you can choose to study abroad, at the island's university or a mix of the two options.

[Hopal]

Excerpt from XVII Olympic Winter Games: Hopal's Wintery Olympics
Prologue
Chapter written by Bob Ingram

There were many names floated in the making of this book, there was In the Shadow of Scandal, Hopal's Olympic Make-or-Break, The Ministry's Gamble, even Felixon's Test. But in the end we decided on the relatively boring name of Hopal's Wintery Olympics. We could have named this book anything else, but we decided on that boring name. You might wonder why, and that's a valid question. Well, this would be a historic Olympic Games for Team Hopal, particularly for Winter sports. Before these Olympics, Hopal wasn't really a winter sporting country, after all most the nation experienced mild or warm temperatures for most of the year. Most of the winter sports in this country took place in the remote Northern Mountainous region of the country, a region that was an afterthought for most Hopalians. But it was where our Winter Sport Olympians trained, where all of their facilities where located, where they became Olympians. There were a lot of them at these Olympics, 134 medal entries for Team Hopal at these Olympics. This was a record number of medal entries for Team Hopal at the Olympics, not even at a Summer Olympics had there been more medal entries for Team Hopal. So this was to be a make-or-break for Winter Sports in Hopal, if these athletes fared well and were popular back home, Hopalians might embrace winter sports more, and they didn't it might be relegated once again to the fringes of Hopalian sport. Hopalians would be watching these Winter Olympic Games, and for many it would be there first introduction to winter sports, and it would be the ultimate test of it's popularity.

But there is another reason why these Olympics would be so significant for Hopal, and it has to do with the situation at the Hopalian Olympic Committee, and the scandal that had unraveled over the last few months. It all began when the Hopalian Olympic Committee was allocated its funds for the XVI Olympic Cycle. Now the Hopalian Olympic Committee pays athletes all across the country, both former and future Olympians, they provide funds to cover athletes' living costs and costs related to their health and training. The Hopalian Olympic Committee also pays for the construction and maintenance of sporting facilities across the country, a job that before these Olympics was usually outsourced to independent contractors. The scandal started soon after the Hopalian Olympic Committee was allocated its funds for the cycle, it was at this time that the Hopalian Olympic Committee began giving funds to fake athletes and contractors. Oftentimes these were real people and shell corporations that did exist on paper, but they weren't actually athletes or building or maintaining sports facilities in Hopal. Instead what was happening was that these people and corporations were laundering funds towards the bank account of the Chair of the Hopalian Olympic Committee Lucy Gurvaneses, in exchange for a small portion of the funds for everyone involved. This scheme started off small, but as the months went along it grew and grew, involving more names and more money. Gurvaneses lavished herself, buying multiples properties across the country, most notably a large estate just outside of Port Hope. As this scheme grew and more and more money was being put into Lucy Gurvaneses bank account, there was less and less money in the coffers of the Hopalian Olympic Association. By the time the XVI Summer Olympic Games rolled around, the Hopalian Olympic Association was basically bankrupt, and was unable to field a team for that cycle's Summer Olympics. This was an announcement that shocked many in the country, who thought the nation was making headway at the Olympics, and had been looking forward to that cycle's Summer Olympics for a long time. Many, particularly the athletes that were set to compete in those Olympics were understandably quite angry, and it was at this point that the Hopal Herald began investigating the Hopalian Olympic Committee.

Months later, just weeks before the start of the XVII Winter Olympics, an article dropped in the Hopal Herald, accusing Lucy Gurvaneses and the Hopalian Olympic Committee of money laundering. These allegations were denied at first by the Hopalian Olympic Committee, but as the calls grew louder for the committee's resignation, calls that had begun soon after the committee failed to field a team for the XVI Summer Olympics, Prime Minister Harry Felixon summoned Lucy Gurvaneses to his office to give her a notice of suspension. Soon afterward, Gurvaneses revealed that her long-time rival within the Hopalian Olympic Committee, Vice Chair Helen Fernando, who had been an opponent within the committee, blocking many of her initiatives, and who had begun campaigning against after the release of the allegations, had been using taxpayer dollars to cover up her adultery, which for a time was illegal in Hopal. Helen Fernando would the next member of the committee to be handed a notice of suspension by the Prime Minister. I, as the last member of the committee remaining decided that it was time for a reset within the organization, and opted for an early retirement, handing in my resignation to the Prime Minister. I had decided to turn my focus to helping to write this great book about Team Hopal at the XVII Olympic Winter Games.

So with the quick dissolution of the Hopalian Olympic Committee, it came down to the barely three-month-old Ministry of Public Identity, Sport, and Cohesion to quickly bring together a team to field at the XVII Olympic Winter Games. This was the same ministry that was coming under fire for not stopping the money laundering going on at the Hopalian Olympic Committee, and for stalling the investigation into the Hopalian Olympic Committee. So it was vital for the ministry to actually field a team at these Olympics, lest there be two Olympics in a row that Team Hopal failed to field a team, which would be a PR nightmare for the Ministry. So, Deputy Minister of Public Identity, Sport, and Cohesion Kelly Hern, a seasoned civil servant, who for a longtime worked at the Ministry of Culture dealing with sport, had been made Chief of the Mission. She would be the one responsible for the fielding of a team to these Olympics, and she basically went through all of the records at the Hopalian Olympic Committee for Winter Sport Athletes. Brought them together, got the few best in every discipline and signed them into the Olympics. So that's the backdrop for Team Hopal at the XVII Olympic Winter Games, and that brings us to the events of this book.

---

Team Hopal Events - Day 1

Curling - Mixed Doubles MD3 & MD4
John Snoppel/Amelia Eckard

Ice Hockey - Women's MD1
Team Hopal

Luge - Men's Run 1 & 2
Curt Peters
Mike Larder

Short Track Speed Skating - Mixed 2000 Metre Relay Final
James Horrell/Chance Lamont/Alana Gracia/Lorrie Gaskell

Short Track Speed Skating - Men's 1000 Metre Heats
James Horrell
Chance Lamont
Stanton Sinclaire

Short Track Speed Skating - Women's 500 Metre Heats
Alana Gracia
Lorrie Gaskell
Lorretta Hines

Ski Jumping - Men's Individual Normal Hill Qualifying
Fred Finn
Jack Louis

Ski Jumping - Women's Individual Normal Hill Final
Carrie Hurst

Speed Skating - Women's 3000 Metre Final
Irina Koryeva
Ursula Cornyalla

[New Gelderland]

This is the Day 1 cutoff.

[Srednjaci]

XVII Olympic Winter Games-Eiran Mountains & Yoongyeong

REPORTER : IGOR BOŽIĆ

Dear viewers, good day and welcome to the Olympic browser! For all those who did not manage to watch the broadcasts of sports events live, we want to say that we are reporting with great news.
Our Olympic delegation started with two medals, gold and silver!
So let's start with the gold medal!

A SENSATIONAL RACE IN THE BIATLON MIX RELAY WENT TO OUR BIATHLONES!

An incredible, sensational and crazy race in the mix relay!
A race worthy of the Olympic Games! Phenomenal and tense until the very end. As many as five relay teams alternated in leading positions with extremely minimal differences. Only at the beginning of the race, the New Gerderland team had a slightly bigger advantage, but as the race progressed it became clear that it would not end that way. Already after the second change, as many as five teams were in a group next to each other, New Gerderland, Electrum, Quebec & Shingoryeo, Krigiersien and our selection.
Almost everyone finished shooting at the same time and obviously the team that is better on skis will win.
In our team, we have such a great asset, Lucijan Matković. He is the most motivated because he lacks a medal from the mixed relay.
The real drama unfolded at the end of the race, our team was tied for fifth place with the Electrum team. The last change was made by Matković. The other teams did not go far, almost all of them are level with each other on their skis. Matković drove brilliantly and five equal biathletes, lined up side by side, came to the finish line. The finish starts, who will have the strength for the very end, the guys are trying to pass each other with their hands, but nobody has a visible advantage.
They cross the finish line and the photo finish must be activated here.
The results are awaited and the biathletes are lying on the snowy floor, barely breathing. Colleagues from the national team run up to them. Nina Mandarić looks expectantly at the scoreboard, but there are no results yet... the other teams are also in disbelief... and then... Intermediates 1st place, Olympic champions, gold medal!!
Silver is shared by New Gerderland, Quebec & Shingoryeo and Krigiersien, Electrum without a medal in the photo finish!
Incredible joy and celebration in our camp!


OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS : Lucijan Matković, Ivan Sutov, Nina Mandarić and Ivana Mandarić

Lucijan Matković wins his fifth medal at the Olympic Games and his fourth gold. It is his second gold in relay races. There is one in the men's relay from past games.
It is an incredible fact that this is also our seventh Olympic gold medal in biathlon, which puts this sport by far in first place in terms of Olympic medals won in our country.

BIATHLON RECORD AT THE OLYMPICS :
GOLD : 7
SILVER : 1
BRONZE: 2

final results

1 Lucijan Matković/ Ivan Sutov/ Ivana Mandarić/ Nina Mandarić (SRE)                          1:06:46.2
 2 Celine Grisset-Cauchon/Laurent Milette/Jin Yuna/amara Pocnic (QUE)                         1:06:46.7
   Rory Barr-Arkwright/Jack Haley/Camila Horne/Emma York (NGD)                                1:06:46.7
   Sharian Liatris/Desmond Desnudo/Diana Desnudo/Alexa Sheepdog (KGS)                         1:06:46.7

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THE STORY OF NOT GIVING UP - EMIL SLUTSKY

EMIL SLUTSKY won a silver medal in free skiing, the moguls discipline! The tears on his face reveal all the beauty of the Olympic Games and the Olympic spirit.
Emil performed at the last games in Liventia and failed to pass the qualifications, he was only 17th.
In the meantime, he had a heavy fall from his motorcycle. He operated bones on both legs and was advised to consider for the other life paths and options. Emil Slutsky almost gave up his career and enrolled in sports management. Fortunately, he is not gave up.
Emil worked hard everything from the beginning, as a beginner entering in to this sport for the first time, step by step, he came back and fell. Performed again and fell, but rose again. He built and honed his form all the way to Olympic silver!
Well done Emil! We are all very proud of you and everything you have achieved.

1 Trel Avalgay (NGD)         81.03
2 Emil Slutsky (SRE)         79.56
3 Alexandre Stewart (QUE)    78.84

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DISASTER IN THE FINAL OF SKI JUMPING FOR WOMEN!

When it seemed that Ana Turkulja was going to defend her title, something incredible happened.
Ana Tea Lozančić developed a high fever overnight and the doctors prepared her to perform with vitamin injections. However, it was a performance just to be done.
Ana Turkulja also complained of weakness in her body, her temperature was measured at 38.5C. The doctors in our team managed to prepare her for the performance, but it was not worthy of an Olympic champion. The youngest in our team, Yoko Miyahira, did not disappoint in her performance. Yoko finished in 7th place and that's her big range so far.
We did not expect much more from the experienced Londrescu than the 23rd position at the end.

But the boys performed in the qualifiers. There were 76 ski jumpers at the ski jump. All our representatives are among the top 50 who are competing for a medal. The best was Ivan Čučić in 2nd place and Ratko Ložunić finished fourth.
Darinko Bučić finished in 16th place and the young junior champion of our country, Valentin Fratrić, finished in 20th place.

---

FROM THE OTHER RESULTS WE DO HIGHLIGHT IN:

SPEED SKATING — Women's 3000m (MEDAL)

6 Sara Mašić (SRE)                        3:57.79
17 Helena Antić (SRE)                      4:00.94
48 Tanja Lupić (SRE)                       4:06.30

SHORT TRACK — Women's 500m heats

First Round

 Heat 7
1 Mädchen Colquhoun (DCS)               43.057 Q
2 Ilka Sohlberg (ABL)                   43.097 Q
3 Chong Youn Cho (SRE)                  43.242
4 Anja Torgersen (RCL)                  43.294

 Heat 8
1 Talia Fletcher (KSK)                  42.936 Q
2 Steff Harries (LEN)                   43.001 Q
3 Minta Meeuwessen (NGD)                43.638
4 Ivona Deralić (SRE)                   44.075

Heat 10
1 Valerija Gatković (SRE)               42.812 Q
2 Natalia Hunter (NGD)                  42.875 Q
3 Sofia Papatheodorou (AKE)             42.959
4 Hayley Cornell (KRY)                  43.237

Second Round
Heat 5
1 Karen Webster (KRY)                   42.847 Q
2 Natalia Hunter (NGD)                  42.929 Q
3 Valerija Gatković (SRE)               42.955
4 Madison Draper (KSK)                  42.971

LUGE — Men's runs 1 and 2

30 Dubrako Vešić (SRE)              58.410    57.449    1:55.859
48 Jakov Dužic (SRE)                58.169    59.054    1:57.223
51 Ivan Samovlija (SRE)             58.958    58.286    1:57.244

ICE HOCKEY — Women's MD1


Srednjaci (SRE) 0–1 Electrum (ETM)

CURLING — Mixed Doubles MD3, MD4

Yi Dong-Yoon/Benoit Kweon (QUE) 7–8 Goran Firičić/Jana Gotić (SRE)
Kenny Satti/Mia Kaluci (HUR) 5–6 Goran Firičić/Jana Gotić (SRE)

Cross-Country Skiing — Women's 15km Skiathlon

6 Valerija Sarić (SRE)                 45:54.6
9 Marija Fracetić (SRE)                46:25.9
60 Helena Ratković (SRE)                50:54.5
Ivana Gerović (SRE)                      DNF

[Pemecutan]

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Wraspati Pon Wuku Uye, Pawukon 1784

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Winter Olympics: Will There Be A Hype?

Joonggyeong - Pairing a tropical country and winter sports are seems unlikely. But it is not the case in Pemecutan. As a tropical country, Pemecutan have attended in 2 previous editions of Winter Olympics. And this is their third participation. The country sent more than 40 athletes to the competition. Their largest winter Olympic delegation to date. And seeing the trend, their delegation size keeps increasing each edition. However, winter sports are still overlooked. Their previous winter Olympic participations and the winter sports addition in 1783 Pekan Olahraga Pemecutan have increase the sports awareness. While the organization is having another issue. A proper venues.

Currently, there are 6 ice rinks all over the country. 5 of them located in the main island. Out of the 6 venues, only one of them that is large enough to use for speed skating athletes. Figure skating on the other hand have expanded further. Local clubs emerge centered in 5 out of 6 cities with the venue. Young athletes are also starting to take lesson ensuring the regeneration in the sport. While for short track, the sport is still in development. Only 1 club have been declared which located in Jematang. The same club that accommodate speed skaters. However, the hope for a constant representative of Pemecutan in Winter Olympics is still held high.

For the XVII edition of Winter Olympics, Pemecutan is only taking part in opening ceremony at one of the two host cities, Joonggyeong. The reason is because all events that Pemecutanian athletes attending are held in the city. Sang Nyoman Berata Yudha is selected as the flag bearer. The selection is to honored the athlete's success to bring the first winter Olympic medal for the country. Unfortunately, the fans back home were unable to watch the opening ceremony and the first day events matches. This due to Pemecutan was celebrated the Nyepi Day, also known as Day of Silence or Seclusion Day. The day is the celebration of a new year day based on Çaka Calendar, one of the 3 calendars observed by Pemecutan. During the day, Pemecutanian especially Sanatana Dharma believers, which account around 80% of the total population, are taking out 4 prohibitions. Including no lights, no working, no vacationing and no partying. For a whole day, the country was switch off their lights. Closing airports and seaports. Switch off television, radio and internet service in their mission to cleansing the world and to carry out self-intropection. The opening ceremony is then broadcasted in their recording format for Pemecutanian sports fans this morning. These includes some events that have started their competitions such figure skating team event. And today, the competition is back to broadcasted live by the official broadcaster, GBC (GOR channel) and SBS (S-Sport Channel).

---

Other News

• Short Track - First 3 events failed to passed early rounds with Kadek Deviani record the best exit in second round.
• Figure Skating - Putra Wisnunanda and pairs, Angga Permana/Listya Srinadi help the team event clinch 6th place. The second half will be held tomorrow.
• Soracanian athlete, Basubala Padurjana express his concern over Soracana-Pemecutan relationship which affected the attendance of Soracanian athletes in international stage.
• Soracana Islands withdraw their athletes from Pemecutan Winter Olympics delegation until the status and demands of Soracana's recognition is accepted.

[Waisnor]

Waisnorian results in the Olympics:
Waisnorian mixed team in biathlon relay, consisting of Marina Komarova, Tatiana Vorontsova, Leonid Chernetsky and Taras Kirillov placed 12th
In cross-country skiing women's 15km skiatlon Magdalena Orłowska finished 28th, Elizaveta Kornilova placed 46th
In men's moguls final both Paweł Osiński and Yuri Artyukhov qualified to the second run, where they were eliminated - Artyukhov placed 7th, Osiński - 12th
In snowboard women's slopestyle qualifying round, Judyta Rogowska managed to qualify to the final, placing 7th in their heat, Sofia Pyshkaylo didn't do so, finishing 25th
Pair of Vyacheslav Buteets and Maria Telegina in curling mixed doubles are still winning, this time defeating Reed Willaims & Larissa Fredericks from West Phoenicia and Christophe Robin & Éliane Porcher from Darmen, now taking the 1st place solely for themselves
In men's luge first 2 runs, Nikolay Safronov has primed himself for the good start, taking imtermediate 2nd place, Vyacheslav Gorbachev is 50th for now
In short track men's 1000m heats, both Gennady Kosinsky and Timofey Kovgarenya went through the first two rounds
In the women's 500m heats, still in short track, Alisa Martynova placed last in her heat
In speed skating women's 3000m run, Anastasia Karpova finished 21st, Svetlana Antonovich was 33rd
Pavel Pechur and Artur Buinitsky both qualifited to the final in men's individual normal hill ski jumping, placing 29th and 33rd respectively
Still in ski jumping, Varvara Kulishova placed 15th in women's individual normal hill final

Waisnorian movies: I Come From Childhood, main Waisnorian movie of the Thaw

After Waisnor became a part of the Soviet Union, their movie industry was not very successful - even after the death of Joseph Stalin, their movies were limited to tales about heroic Communists defeating their enemies either during Civil War or during World War 2, and it seemed that even the new horizons offered by Khrushchev's Thaw were largely ignored by Waisnorian moviemakers. These freedoms for them were mostly the freedom of not plastering Stalin's face on every shot. But in 1966, the director Victor Turov and the writer Gennady Shpalikov have decided to write something truly innovative for Waisnorian movies, taking cues from many Thaw movies being released at that point in Russia.
Talking about polt of this movie: It tella about childhood of two frineds, Igor and Zhenya, living in Grodno during the last year of the war. Their fathers, brothers and older friends left for the war, and this boys are waiting for them to return as soon as possible, and, of course, for the war to be over. The guys themselves are trying to live as before, but the war invariably makes adjustments to their life. In the meantime, they listen to the stories of soldiers, to their songs and learn responsibility for their country and life.
One of the main "Thaw points" was that the moviemaking crew was very young in comparison to others - both director and writer were less than 30 years old at the time of making this movie. Another one was that main heroes were themselves young and optimistic about future, with them hoping about the better future, which can be said even about modern Waisnorians. But actually, one of the main selling points of this movie were their songs - they included several songs by Vladimir Vysotsky, who also did an acting gig there as one of the soldiers, including "Mass Graves", one of the most popular songs of Vysotsky. It also featured "Enemies burnt the dear house down", which while originaly being written only after the war, was still only very recently permitted to be performed.
This movie was the first Waisnorian one to be widely viewed across the Soviet Union, and set the example for the other directors and writers. As for more local influence, it became the main Thaw movie for Waisnorian movie industry and it's influence was felt in further movies depicting lives during or after World War 2, with more hope and optimism being inserted into them. Also, thanks to this movie and inclusion of his songs in this movie, Vysotsky gained a lot of popularity among the Waisnorians.

[Aboveland]

Three Years On: Test Your Knowledge on Aboveland and Nykipiflugpuu at the Winter Olympics

Improving relations between Abovian President Kaisla Saari and Nykipish administrator Kyrmy Kyrmynen have prompted the Abovian Olympic Committee to enter the Olympic delegation of the Abovian Union in the 17th Winter Olympics under the "Aboveland and Nykipiflugpuu" name, in the wake of a successful 16th Games in Liventia and unprecedented success in the AOlympics Winter Carnival. As the delegation prepares to tackle their third Winter Olympics, with many returning faces eager to defend their silverware and add to their collection, we ask you how much you know about Aboveland's success at the Olympics.

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JOONGYEONG — 131 Abovians and 19 Nykipiks have traveled to New Gelderland and Quebec and Shingoryeo to participate in the 17th Winter Olympics, under the banner of Aboveland and Nykipiflugpuu as in the prior edition of the Games in Liventia. The decision, taken in light of improving relations between constituent parts of the Abovian Union, also comes as a continuation of the Union's success competing under said banner — Aboveland and Nykipiflugpuu had their most successful Olympics appearance in the 16th Winter Games in Liventia with 16 medals, including landmark golds in figure skating and a speed skating Olympic record, and followed up on their fortunes with an unprecedented eight gold medals, out of a total of 15, in the Atlantian Oceania Winter Carnival.

Abovian Olympic Committee head Arne Kuadonvaara, having served his unofficial forced hiatus from media duties at the organization following a diplomatic spat with King William of Eshialand, has returned to the limelight for the games in Quebec and New Gelderland — and suggests that Team Abovian Union’s third Winter Olympics can be its most successful yet.

“We’ve spoken about our priorities before,” Kuadonvaara said, “and it’s always been quite clear that winter sports are our focus and our main passion. We have certainly put a lot of work and dedication into our athletes’ training, facilities, and opportunities across Aboveland; we don’t have a wealth of debutants for this year, but our returning athletes are stronger, happier, and more diverse than ever.”

The bullish head’s optimism stems from the delegation’s success at the recent Atlantian Oceania Winter Carnival series, in which the skating events were held in the Quebecois city of Myeongju. There, Aboveland and Nykipiflugpuu set the skating world alight, taking home five gold medals in speed skating (for flagbearers Tore and Aarne Svendsen, Jaak-Emil Järvi, Linda Mikkola and Maritta Hirvonen), two in short track (for the mixed relay team and Miikka Salminen), and one in figure skating (going to defending pairs champions Karin Saari and Evgeniy Barkov). The success of the delegation in these events, believes Kuadonvaara, is directly correlated to the Olympic Committee’s investment in Abovian talents and, in the specific case of figure skating, owing to the promotion of partnerships between Abovian skaters and internationally-acclaimed trainers.

Among Aboveland and Nykipiflugpuu’s most awaited returning champions, Rafael Pulkkinen stands out as a special case: the men’s figure skating gold medalist, widely considered the dark horse candidate for success as the only domestically-trained athlete of the team’s three submissions, has adopted his mother’s maiden name since the end of the Liventian-hosted games. “It sounds nicer,” Pulkkinen clarified, “and if all goes well I can be the first Abovian medalist to make it under two different names!”.

Despite the delegation’s focus on skating, however, the team is hoping to achieve successes in other widely popular winter sports, such as cross-country skiing (where Nykipik Makknys Kirispykk hopes to become the first Nykipiflugpuu-born solo Olympic medallist, and Kasper Ulvestad aims to go one more afer a tight silver in Liventia), nordic combined, and bobsleigh, a discipline in which legends Storm Lundgaard and Oliver Ritter officially called it a day on their prolific careers just before the final delegation was revealed.

Nevertheless, already on the the first day of the 17th Winter Olympics, Aboveland and Nykipiflugpuu had a mixed bag of results in their comfort zone. On the brighter side of results, the delegation has placed themselves joint sixth in the teams figure skating event, with a spectacular performance from Nykipish-born and Quebec-trained Feliks Mensen-Keskula, plus a victory for Isto Kallio and Silje Kalliomäki in the ice dance discipline, overcoming a dismal performance from defending pairs champions Karin Saari and Evgeniy Barkov. On the flip side, the short track delegation had a rough start to their Olympic campaign. The mixed relay team, defending champions and Olympic Record holders from the previous Games, fell in the semifinals with a costly stumble from Sami Katjamäki to finish second in the non-medal final by the end of the event. Katjamäki later also failed to advance past the Men's 1000m heats, for which only Miikka Salminen made it through. The Women's 500m race was also not so kind to Abovian athletes, as Ilka Sohlberg was disqualified from the second round and also failed to advance the delegation past the heats.

With their third Winter Olympics underway, have a try to guess a selection of trivia facts about Aboveland and Nykipiflugpuu's Winter Olympics successes and misadventures thus far by playing the official, Abovian Olympic Committee-sanctioned, "Aboveland and Nykipiflugpuu at the Olympic Winter Games in Joongyeong, Quebec and Shingoryeo and the Eiran Mountains, New Gelderland"!

[Ko-oren]

A small delegation from the Dragonfly Islands have been preparing in Ko-oren's twelve olympic facilities - where 'olympic' is just shorthand for 'individual sports' which are by and large not as popular as team sports on our northwestern Anaian archipelago. The only individual sport that comes close is orienteering together with its northeastern cousin, 'ski orienteering', which explains how our Olympic delegation to Joongyeong and the Eiran Mountains is so heavily slanted towards cross-country skiing.

That's also where our medal aspirations lie. Alpine skiing is entirely confined to the northeast, with only four places to train for our athletes. Speed skating is a popular winter pastime everywhere north of the capitals - so excluding Sterrenwolde and Schemerdrecht - and also relies heavily on northeastern involvement. The further northeast you go, the less people are into speed skating and more into ice hockey skating. Similar but different. That said, for those south of the capitals who got into skating, shorttrack seems to be the 'code' of choice. Add to that a fourth skating discipline, of the artistic figure kind, and you have the bulk of our delegation.

That leaves us with the most interesting stories: the somewhat isolated and individual skeleton and luge parts. Just eight athletes, each with their own story of how they got into the sport and how they got the olympic facilities to spend money on a track just for them. Birgit yCadeireninion and Cwin yChawniaw were in the lead for this, and from their names you can probably figure out that they're not from the northeast. The opposite, in fact. All the way from the rainy southwest, still surrounded by vertically interesting landscapes, they wanted to get into a sport that was fast, first sliding down hills with makeshift sleds, and later preparing their own tracks to slide down from - and then they found out that some people can get real medals from real gold, silver, and bronze, by taking their hobby to the extreme. Securing scholarships abroad, they convinced their parents and teachers to let them hone their skills and return to create the Ko-orenite Skeleton and Luge Association, and then applied to have the bill for a dedicated track paid by the newly founded Ko-orenite Olympic Committee who were just figuring out which programmes to pour money in ahead of the summer olympics.

From their base in Mawryshire, a dedicated but small group of people set their sights on the winter olympics.

Firstly Abraham Mourey, then later two students from the Capitals, Ausuthrudin and Bedhazera, then finding some inroads with the larger winter contingent up northeast with Liskina Schrijver and Elsbet Appeldal, and lastly completing their gang with Abraham Mourey - as well as others who didn't qualify.

Completing the delegation is the group of curlers, a sport that took off on northern university campuses, originally as a way to hang out under the pretense of a low-intensity sport, later as a way to settle bets and other scores, before growing out into a burgeoning Saturday early morning competitive scene. They then also secured some funding to set up a small competition, roped some Plough Islanders into it to give it some international credence, pizazz, and zing - but mostly to justify the crazy money that went into the construction of multiple curling lanes. They used to compete in mixed teams for but olympic purposes they filed into gendered teams, with team Shasordheninthen and team Paugadaruthen qualifying for the big one.

Complaints of a pro-Gehrennan bias continued (why do both captains have to be from the Capitals?) after the final standings came out, but at least their teams aren't only people from the capitals. There's Aerellen folk in there, with Aoloc and Avabial in the women's team, and a Intermare and Cote Austral twist in the mens' side with Schemer and Zwaluweend as well as Buate and Gaumond. In the mens' competition, the Aerellen folk got outplayed fair and square, at least.

[Ko-oren]

tHe BeEtRoOt: Ko-OrEnItE sUcCeSs iN SpOrTiNg tOuRnAmEnTs iS SeEmInGlY CoRrElAtEd wItH ThE bEeTrOoT aRtIcLe pUbLiCaTiOn rAtE

No, screw that noise. Take the test: where do you score on the Skatological compass?

Personally, I'm a Figure person, but I side with the 'contact' part of the spectrum on economic issues.

[Cap Nord]

Amalie Spitznagel writes Olympic history

The Swamund native did so in dashing silver letters, even transcending the expectations held after what had already been a successful season for Spitznagel already. Going into the skiathlon opener of the cross-country tournament, a variety of candidates for gold had been quoted by the international press including reigning champion Dhanoore Ngaltanárissë, City Centre silver Teewinter and local favorite Langbroek. But none of these three would be at the sharp end after what had been a chaotic start of the race, as team youngster Klara Berg confirmed. “After two or three kilometers, I realized that there was no way I could keep up with the pace and I let go of the group,” she claimed. “It was a hard decision to make but in the end it was the right one. During the freestyle half, I picked up a lot of opponents who had overplayed their hand.”

At the five kilometer point, the group had been trimmed down to about fifteen members and with the presence of three Capnordic athletes, the red-yellow-and-blue looked on their way for a solid result. Still, as the group split on a difficult drag, our trio found itself left behind: a major disadvantage with the halfway point coming up. At this point, Oda Kristiansen made the difference. “I knew I was not having the best of days and saw how Ida and Amalie looked stronger. As I realized I was out for the medals, pulling them back was the best thing I could do.” As such, Kristiansen would be one of the first to be left behind as the war of attrition took its toll in the second half. Still, Béringer and Spitznagel remained firmly in the lead group. But another of the countless climbs on Evergreen Winterland eventually claimed victims as Ioudaian Phyllis bat Ilana upped the pace once more. Having to surrender four years ago, the Ioudaian was out for revenge and only two women could follow: Freyja Andersson of Magnus Phoenicia and Amalie Spitznagel.

“At that point, we knew that if we could keep the others distanced, there would be a medal in it for each of us. The collaboration was not perfect, but good enough to maintain the gap.” Getting closer to the finish stadium, bat Ilana drove the rhythm once more, breaking Andersson and Spitznagel in that order. “As it happens so often in our sport, the best one won in the end. There is no regret in that, I had a perfect race to the extent of my possibilities.” And those possibilities sufficed for a silver plaque for Amalie Spitznagel. The 26-year old former licensed speech therapist confirms with this result that her domestic supremacy echoes across the multiverse. “Ahead of the start, I had secretly hoped for a close result and when everything fell in place with a hard race, it came to me that it was possible.”

Amalie Spitznagel crossed the finish line in tears, celebrating a marvelous second place twelve seconds behind the victorious Phyllis bat Ilana. Behind Spitznagel, Ida Béringer also showed excellent skills in her pacing strategy. “In the last kilometer, I felt I had little left in me to shake off Cheung, Saric and Vernon.” The 33-year old from Brézaux even came close to silverware herself but ended up two seconds shy, leading to mixed feelings. “If I had attacked earlier, Andersson would have kept her pace till the finish line, making it unlikely I would have surpassed her. But over just two seconds… You will never know.” Nonetheless, the fourth spot finish remains an excellent result, bookending the triumphant silver of Capnordics star of the day Spitznagel. Seeing the form of our athletes and their capacity to battle with the more established winter sports nations, one can hope to climb higher on the medal table but the silver from Amalie Spitznagel will for eternity maintain its glory as first one ever.

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Solid biathlon performance in shadows of spectacular photo finish

A top ten position in this field confirms a respectable start for the Capnordic mixed relay team but in the end, they remained far from the spotlights in what has been one of the most incredible and suspenseful finishes in the history of the sport. The photos of the six Olympians all thrusting their skis to the finish line in the hope of eternal glory will become part of the canon of the sport, with the Srednjaci quartet triumphing by centimeters. Said lead group of six missed a Capnordic presence. The opening of Dorian Moreau was excellent but after a mediocre second shooting, the tactical plan became moot as Gyda Lien was distanced in her stint. The very disappointed youngster missed a total of seven targets, leading to two appearances on the penalty loop. Fortunately, Susanna Ek kept Cap Nord from slipping further down the ranks, managing to lift in the slipstream of the Vilitan entry. In the last part of the race, Valentin Lemoine made quite an impact and with only a single miss, he even gave the Darmeni entry a scare to rank near ninth. Even if the end result does not stand out in the race story, the form displayed by Moreau, Lemoine and Ek holds promise for what follows in the Eiran Mountains. For Lien, the pressure might be off and the selection junior could bounce back from this.

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Better than expected: solid performances in short track

The national short track skating selection had traveled to Joonyeong with only four athletes and limited ambitions. After all, the amateur sport is rarely considered domestically and the pool of candidates was limited. This disadvantage should have shown the strongest in the mixed relay, an opportunity for every nation to showcase their best, which brought for Cap Nord all skaters present on the ice. In their heat, the brightly red dressed team seemed on its way to an elimination but for Stan Liddell. The phlegmatic 29-year old furniture designer from Crester hails from a separate generation and serves as a veteran to the team, with his compatriots being 19, 21 and 22. But this also gives him the experience for a few tricks up the sleeve. With two laps to go, Liddell chose for the risk by going through the inside: a dodgy move but accepted by the jury. As such, Cap Nord surprisingly knocked out the Electrumite team for third, signing for the upset of the opening round. The feat could not be repeated in the quarters, facing three of City Centre’s top five in Kriegiersien, New Gelderland and the Abovians, but the team was off to a good start nonetheless.

The confidence offered by the result echoed on in the individual events. In the kilometer event for men, Loe Maarschalk found himself in a tightly contested heat. Still, the man from Savelgem showed tactical cunning. As Abovian Sami Katjamäki appeared too eager to redeem his error on the mixed relay, Maarschalk made use of the bickering between Katjamäki and Darmeni Clément to swoop into the second position and hold on. Stan Liddell, in turn, took quite a few risks as well but despite some good maneuvers, this did not result in a second round. Said round was the end station for Maarschalk who after a difficult start tried to go along the outside of Almuhammadin but touched blades with the Alezian: the end of his ambitions for this event.

Even more impressive was the performance of 19-year old Liedewij Tromp. The geography student was drawn with Olympic record holder Julia Benson of Liventia but barely seemed impressed by the occasion. While the experts were looking forth to a duel between Nguema and Bugge for second, behind the pace of Benson, it was Tromp who found the smallest opening in the defense of the Valanoran to snatch a ticket for the next round. Impressive, not in the least as she qualified for these Olympics with the worst personal record of the whole field. In the second round, Tromp again looked promising but could not find a hole in the wall to go beyond the fourth place. Compatriot Puck Paukeslag did not join her in the second round: in a chaotic heat that eliminated former silver medallist Renata Chance, Paukeslag timed her attack a bit too early and was flooded by Chen and Hines. Still, the final conclusion for the modest Capnordic selection was positive, with three advancements out of six, and they can look confidently forward to their return to the ice of Halle-Bernard-Rouget in two (for the men) or four days.